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Topic Selection
Generally, your teacher will give you a broad topic to research. It is necessary that you narrow the topic to the number of pages and how much detail you are trying to use. If a topic is too broad, you will find too much information. If a topic is too narrow, you may not find enough information. For example, if your topic is automobiles, you will find millions of pages on all automobile makes/models since their inception, not to mention the millions of pages on all automobile manufacturers. You will find enough information to write several books. However, if you decide that you want to write a paper on the invention of lug nuts, you will not find enough information to write a page, let alone a research paper. Your research topic must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to provide useful information to your reader.
If you are given the opportunity, explore a topic that interests you. What do you know about your topic? What questions would you like to have answered about your topic? What are topics that would be of interest to your audience? What do you expect to conclude about your topic?
Here are some ways to help you narrow your topic:
Brainstorming
Write down all possible ideas that you know about your topic. Afterwards, group similar ideas. If you wish, you can use a graphic organizer, such as these:
Journalism Writing
Good journalism writing always answers the questions WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND HOW. You can use journalism questioning to begin any expository writing process.
Who?
Who is involved in the issue? Who is affected? Are their any victims?
What?
What is at issue? What is the significance of the issue to your readers?
Where?
Where does the problem or issue take place?
When?
When did the issue or problem develop? When did the issue or problem end? When is action needed to address the issue or problem?
Why?
Why did the issue or problem arise? Why is your topic a problem at all? Why did the issue or problem develop?
How?
How is the issue or problem significant? How can it be addressed? How does it affect the community? How can the issue or problem be resolved?
Drawing or Word Pictures
Some people are visual thinkers and need to create a drawing or see photos of a topic to discover what position they want to take on a topic. If you are a visual thinker, draw a picture of your topic. What are the predominant images? What comes to your mind as you look at the sketch or photo? If you have written any words, do they offer clues as to what your position on the topic may be?
Browse Sources and Seek Information
Before committing to a position, it is important to read about your topic to find what aspect of the topic interests you. To do this, you must research the topic. By researching the topic, you will discover if there is enough information on a topic, and you will know if your topic is too narrow or too broad.
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